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7/30/12, Lenore, ID - This is our second and last day taking a break on the Clearwater River.  The lads are well rested and have spent the last two days eating every blade of grass they can.  By what they have mowed down, I estimate that each horse has consumed about 100 pounds of grass per day during our rest period.  Since I kept them on their normal grain ration, they also got 15 pounds of oats per horse each day. I can tell the difference when I look at them.  A horse stores a lot of fat in his neck.  As buffed out as my team is, the biggest change when they add fat is the transition from the neck to the front of the shoulder, after two days of rest and lots of feed, it’s smoother and not as angular.

Looking upstream from my camp.

The biggest event of the day occurred this morning.  I was just stretching out for a nap when I heard a commotion.  Apparently, an elderly couple canoeing on the river capsized their canoe in the small rapids shown above, about 500 yards above the camp.  By the time I got out there, they had already drifted past the eddy in front of the camp and were back in the 5 mph current. Fortunately, they both were wearing life jackets, but they didn’t have the strength to swim the canoe to shore when they pulled into the eddy.

I grabbed a 50 feet rope from the trailer and went after them, down the river bank.  The current was carrying them faster than I could navigate along the steep bank, but all was not lost.  A lot younger and more athletic guy caught up with me.  I passed him the rope and watched him fly down river (a lot faster than I could follow).  He was able to get the rope to the old guy at the next eddy, 1/4 mile downstream. When the old guy decided to continue downstream while we assisted his wife up the river bank, he said, “Been married 52 years and now she wants to divorce me - ha ha”.

Ah, the good life of River Camp!

If you were to ask me what I did on my day off, I can only reply, “not a darn thing, I spent the day relaxing”.

The nearly full moon rising over the ridge at dusk.

According to my GPS, I’m 27 miles from the center of Lewiston, ID. Across the Snake River from there is Clarkston, WA. The day after tomorrow (August 1st) I plan to make my way across both of these cities and camp on the outskirts of Clarkston. I have a couple of stops to make in town, so this will be challenging.

Bill at dusk.  He now has that well-rested look in his eyes.

It’s been a great break, but it’s time to hit the road.  By the time these blogs are posted to the internet, I should be well on my way.